Phillip Monhollen was born and reared in Harlan County, Kentucky, the heart of the Appalachian Mountains, where his third-generation coal-mining family modeled the values of hard work. He worked and paid his own way through Alice Lloyd College at Pippa Passes in Eastern Kentucky. Active in student government, Phil was elected to several leadership positions in work and academics, including his selection as President of the Law Society.
Encouraged by his parents and the Alice Lloyd administration, Phil pursued a degree at the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, graduating in 1999. Though he has lived and practiced law in Louisville for the last 22 years, the mountains and the people of Eastern Kentucky retain a significant presence in his life.
Music has long been an expression of Phil’s spiritual life. He started singing in his local church at age 15 and was soon performing at regional events and other churches, continuing while touring the United States as a member of the Alice Lloyd College Voices of Appalachia Choir. He was later inducted into the Kentucky All-Collegiate State Choir, a distinctive choral honor.
Since joining Southeast Christian Church in Louisville in 1997, Phil has shared his love of music through active participation on the worship team. An avid reader, Phil prefers history from the medieval era, though he is also partial to early twentieth century and Eastern Kentucky mining history, focusing on its effect upon Appalachian culture, family life and environment.
Phil has been married to his high school sweetheart, J.J. Young Monhollen, for 27 years. They have three children: a daughter, Leslie, 18, and two sons, Harlan, 14, and Henry, 8.
For twenty-two years Phil has brought to the practice of law the values of hard work and steadfastness of character he learned in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. Throughout his years as an attorney, he has been active in simple probate matters and major plaintiff cases, primarily engaging in the defense of physicians, hospitals, assisted living, skilled and long-term care facilities. He is no stranger to the courthouse.
